Hi Rhonda,
If you want the bird as a pet that you can handle, you should only get one bird. If you get two, they will bond with each other and not stay tame. The male cockatiels typically are better pets, but it can be hard to determine the sex of a cockatiel until they are about 8 months old. The most important thing is that you handle any bird you are thinking of buying and make sure you get along. You should not buy a bird you can’t handle because you may never be able to handle it. Sometimes a shop or breeder will have older birds that were handfed but not tame anymore, however just because it used to be tame doesn’t mean it will be tame again. Often it is like this because it is not suitable as a pet.
Thank you for asking Lafeber,
Brenda